Thursday, 12 December 2013

6 of 16 Stories on Gender Based Violence

By Sara Ndlovu (Not her real name)

Being a student on attachment is one of the hardest things in life because there is always that one person that will try to take advantage of you. Usually that person is the immediate boss, who knows that you need him to give you a good mark and will make sure they ask even the impossible of you.

I did a few months of my attachment at a local authority in a small town in Matabeleland North. Like I said it turned out to be a few months instead of a year because of the ‘boss’ syndrome I mentioned earlier. My boss and I had a good working relationship and he always commended my efficiency in getting this done. However all this changed when we went for a work related trip out of town and he became a little too friendly for comfort. Being the outspoken, independent mind that I was, I did not hesitate to tell him I did not like where he was going and I was not going to roll over and let him do as he pleased because he was my boss.  
Upon returning to the office, his attitude completely changed and he stopped being the super boss that he had been before the trip. Then I discovered he had actually had a sexual relationship with all the interns that had been attached to his office and was well known for taking in beautiful, female interns only. I then realised that sticking around might actually cost me a whole year of my school and decided to phone my academic supervisor and request to be shifted to a different company. After a great deal of explaining why I wanted to change, I was finally allowed and the department got an alternative place for me.   


Sometimes some things can be solved easily if acted on in time. So to all the students, you need to stand your ground and refuse to let people take advantage of you because you are young and a student. I am sure if i had stayed the entire year he would have failed me and when trying to explain everything after a mark has been given would have been futile. So sometimes we need timeously act on our situations. 

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